Snowplow



Oct; 27,1925. 1,559,184

. 'C. S. ROBBINS ET AL suowP oW Filed June' 17, 1924 .2'Sheets-Sheet 2' Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED. :sT es ."SNOWPLQW. v

. Application filed June .17, 1924.: Serial Newman-1 v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, CHARLES S. ROB- BINS and EDWARD 5B; GOBURN,:i-l) th citizens of the United States, residing at Worcester.

inthe county of lvorcesterend Commonwealth of Massachusetts,- hzwe invented a new and useful Improvement .ina Snowplow, of which the following, together with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates generally to snow plows and has particuler lreference to an improved sn0w plow :foruse in connection with motor vehicles ofithe .heev'y. duty-type,

such as trucks, :busses and tractors. f

V The objectiof.ourinvention is to provide a novel arrangement of one .orinore plows .in connectionivith a suit-ableivehicle, where bythe street, or highweys, may be readily cleared of snow the. widthflof the path broken through the snowby ouriinproved plows being .capablenot considerable variation by adjustment of the plowsw Durinvention further contemplates an improved arrangement otplows, wherebythe passage of the plows through the-.snowwvfll cause the snow which has been previously pushed aside toloe lifted froni thestreet, .or road- Wey, and be .deliveredon either sideof the 30 vehicle ebovethelevel of thestreet, orroadway. The above and other advantageous features of our invention will hereinafter inore f ully -ztppeer-,reference being had to the accompanying drew-ingsin which Fig. 1 is eplan View of e motor vehicle provided with snow, p lowsembodying our invention. f

Fig. '2 is ,a View in side elevation of the parts shownin Fig. 1. I

Fig. 3 is a View in front elevation of the parts shown in F ig. '1. l

4 is'a'tra/nsverse sectional view along the line 4+4. through one of the "plows shown i-nFig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detai l'view of the pivotal mounting for one of the side plows shown .in Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is e h-ori'zontalseictienal view along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

like reference characters refer. to like parts in the different figures. I

' ture.

,Beferring first to igs. 1 and 2, the outline of the frerne of le motor vehicle is shown, the trams consisting generally of leegit idin ides-members? 1, 1, extendin the Jengthofthe vehicle. :For purposes of illustration, the frame is shown as being thatof a wheeled vehiclehaving front end rear axles-2am 32nd Whee It i -ft b linders ee rhew r, tha o r i i capable of being ap ;)1ied,to .types of, vehicles other then the one illustrated, such as rade s. n uss i best shown in Big. 1,.1our improved Wfln emsn ssnsis prima i y pl 5 carried at h I ht 0f the a e e ing plowsfi, 6,;pi vo t elly secured to the sides of the frame. f The front plow 5 consists of divergent side portions 7, 7 ,the apex, or proW .Ofthe p r ingfi e et u antially at ,tl ecen-ter of the vehicle. The wing plows .6, ti, ere. preferably straight 21nd ere-ct theseme generel fprn as the side p r iens .7, .7; fth .trpnt p o typi l em s secti nnhe rl rpor p is- 6 and 7 bei gishovv n Fig-14 9 t e plow sectinns 6 end 7 c n a n fo m, the cunvet r rbf the -plow. secti ons being such. as to;insure tha .tithesnow-will bepushed asidei'with ,a rollingection, as will be hereinefter described.

:AS ;:l, ,est shown in Fig. 1, the plow 5 is provided-with a cross rod, or brace 8, which exte s betw enq he si ep rti n 7 at pointsjconsiderebly removed froni the apex of theplow 5, sothatfitlie plow as a whole,

sub tant l y igimtt-iengul strue The cross brace 8 is pivotal-1y supported :by sl m 5 9, 9, ,--e;1ch of which iscarvied atitsiother end-by a. hanger 1O, as best sh w-n. Fig-s Th han er 0 are 1 cnred ito fixed ipcrtions of the :vehicle, such asfrthflfiprings; on which-the frame is supr ted, hange lOmey a Well be secuned to the jexleQ, or any-other conveniently'lneaited fixed-portions of the vehicle. Each ioffthe arms is free to turn on a pivot pin 12 carried Joy the corresponding hanger 1-0.

Th plow 5 isithu f h r supn i s by means {045 :1 'jbrecket' which extends upweirdly frornebeneetll the'trame end terminates at a point above the plan center of the plow. The bracket 13 is generally yokeshaped in form with its arms 14 pivotally mounted at their ends on the same pins 12 which carry the arms 9. A sleeve 15 is pivotally carried at the upper end of the bracket 13 on a pin 16, and a thrust rod 17 extends loosely through the sleeve 15. The thrust rod 17 extends downwardly into the plow 5 and its lower end is pivotally connected to the plow by means of a pin 18 carried by a lug 19 provided just in back of the apex of the plow 5. The thrust rod 17 1s threaded along its upper portion to receive nuts 20 and 21 on either side of the sleeve 15, and springs 22 and 23 surround the portions of the rod 17 between the nuts 20 and 21 and the sleeve 15. With this arrangement, it is obvious that while the thrust rod 17 is normally maintained in a given position within the sleeve 15 by the springs 22 and 23, yet the rod 17 is capable of sliding within the sleeve 15 in response to pressure exerted on the plow 5, as will be hereinafter described.

The plow 5, together with its supporting arms 9 and bracket 13, is suspended from a yoke 24 by means of a rigging consisting of chains 25 extending from the three corners, or apexes of the plow, to a ring 26. The ring 26 in turn is suspended from the yoke 24 by means of blocks 27 with a chain 28 extending therebetween, whereby the position of the ring 26 may be adjusted with respect to the yoke 24. By means of this rigging, including the chains 25 and the blocks and tackle, the complete plow 5 may be suspended at the desired position above the ground so as to control the amount of snow which is removed from the surface traversed by the plow. l/Vhen the plow 5 is thus suspended from the yoke 24 by the chains 25 and the associated rigging, it will be apparent that while the plow 5 is positioned longitudinally on the vehicle by means of the arms 9 and the center bracket 13, yet the pivotal connection of the arms 9, both to the frame of the vehicle and to the cross rod 8 of the plow, will permit of ready ver tical adjustment of the plow with respect to the ground.

' Furthermore, the pivotal connection of the arms 9 and the bracket 13, together with the slidable mounting of the thrust rod 17, will permit the plow 5 to yield without damage when it encounters a solid, and rela tively immovable obstruction in its progress over the ground. Obviously, should the plow 5 so yield, it will return to its original position when the obstruction has been passed over, by reason of the fact that it is suspended from the yoke 24. Furthermore, the action of the springs 22 and 23 on the thrust rod permits the prow of the plow to be closely adjusted with respect to the ground surface, so that the plow will always return to this position whenever it may happen to yield, upon encountering an obstruction.

As previously stated, each of the Wing plows 6 is pivotally mounted on the frame of the vehicle, and in carrying out our invention the wing plows 6 are so mounted as to be capable of pivotal movement about axes at right angles to each other. In other words, we provide what is in effect a universal mounting for each of the wing plows 6, whereby each plow is capable of adjustment about a vertical axis fixed with respect to the frame, and is also adapted for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis, as will now be described.

As best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the inner end of each wing plow 6 is provided with a bracket 29 having spaced lugs 30, through which extends a pivot pin 31, the axis XX of which lies in a substantially horizontal plane. A foot 32 is pivotally mounted on the pin 31 between the lugs of the bracket 29 and this foot 32 provides a cylindrical portion 33 having an opening extending therethrough substantially at right angles to the axis X-X of the pin 31. A shaft 34 extends through the portion 33 of the foot 32, and as best shown in Fig. 5, this shaft extends through a bearing 35 carried by the side member 1 of the frame, with its axis YY substantially vertical. The shaft 34 also extends through a bearing 36 carried by an auxiliary frame member 37, so that the shaft 34 is vertically alined with respect to the frame.

The lower end of the shaft 34 is provided with an enlarged portion 38, and as the cylindrical portion 33 of the foot 32 which carries the wing plow 6, rests against the shaft portion 38, the shaft 34 carries the entire weight of the plow 6. The shaft 34, together with the plow 6, is supported by an inverted U-shaped bracket 39, and means are provided for adjusting the shaft 34 vertically with respect to this bracket 39. To this end, the shaft 34 is provided with an extension 40, the upper portion of which is threaded, as indicated at 41, and passes through an opening provided in the bracket 39. A nut 42 is received on the threaded portion 41, so that the nut 42 bears on the bracket 39 and maintains the shaft 34 and the wing plow 6 in its vertical position. The nut 42 is secured to a hand wheel 43, or other suitable operating portion, whereby the nut 42 may be turned on the threaded portion 41 in order to raise or lower the shaft 34 and the wing plow 6. The shaft 34 is provided with a keyway 44 which is adapted to receive the reduced end of a stud 45 extending through the wall of the bearing 36, whereby the shaft 34 is prevented from turning when the nut 42 is turned. The extension 40 of the shaft 34 which carries the nut 42 may be either formed integrally/with the shaft 34, or may be pinned'oniotherwise secured thereto for convenience. of imanufacture, as desired. Y 3

As previously stated, the shaft 34, together with its wing-plow .6,.may :be raised or lowered by turning the nut 42, and inv addition, we have provided separate means whereby the shaft-34n1aybe raised quickly without turningthe nut: 42.: For this pur-, pose, the shaft 3d is provided withaafixed collar 46, towhich is pivotally connected one end'of a lever 4-7, by. means ofa pin 48. The lever d7 is pivotally. mounted on Lone leg of the bracket 39,;by means of a pivot pin 49, and it is obvious that the-shaft, 3 4 and its wing plow 6 may be raised by depressing the longer portion. of the lever 4:7 beyond its pivot pin 49. In this way the shaft 84-, carrying the wing plow 6, may be quickly raised in case of an emergency, by

depressing the lever 47 but when the lever is released, the shaft S iwill immediately drop to its former position, determined by theposition of; the nut d2. It is to be understood that the lever 47 is only used when it is desired to, raise the shaft 34Lquickly, the nut 42 being relied on to ordinarily determine the verticalposition of tliejshaft 8d and to make the adjustments of the position of the shaft audits associated wing plow 6. It is apparent tion that each wing plow 6 is free to turn about its horizontal pivotpin 3,1 atits inner end, and in order to maintain the outer end of each wing'plow at the proper position, a chain 50 is COnl' eG reCl thereto which is secured to a post 51 carried at therearpoi tion of the frame member 1, Suitable means are provided for'adjusting the length of each chain 50,, so that the; outer end of each plow 6 willbe held at the proper position. In addition to being turnable about its hori- Zontal P v Pi ach P Q 6-i a1 tur able about its vertical shaft 34,-whereby the angle which a plow 6 makes withrespect to the lineof' travel of the vehicle. may be varied. In order to maintain each plow 6 v at the desired inclination, a bar 52 is pivotally connected at one end to,- thefree end of each plow 6, and theother end of; the bar 52 is secured by a holder mounted-at the end of a side frame member 1:. Each bar 52 is provided with a number of spaced transverse openings. 54 wide enough toreceive a holder 53, whereby the bar 52- may besecured at different points, a pin 55, being provided to, prevent, the bar slipping ff its holder. it is obvious that the positions-of the bars on "the holders 53, willdetermine the inclination of the wing plows 6 with respect to the side members 1 of the frame, and that this inclinationic-an he readirom-the forego ng descr p- 11y varied by aP'M i lgFEhQ holde s 3 in different.openings-54.; I I I I It will be apparent-fro inspe ion of Figs. 1 and hat wi h our imp oveda rangement o 11e=p1ows an it is p sible .to operate avehicle carrying the plows so as to (cop with e deva e y n w and road-conditions, In the f rst place, the height that thefront plow 5 is suspended above the road surface by the chains 25, determinesftheamount ofsnow that is left on the surface of the road after the passage of the plow, while the width of the plow ,5 determines the width of the path which is originally cleared in-the snow. It is obvious that the width of the path which is made by; the passage of the plow 5 c an be increased by so adjusting thewingplows 6 as to. project beyond the extremities'of the front plow ,5. "Vith such a disposition of the wing plows 6, the .width of the path cleared by the front plow 5 will be consid-. erably increased, and it follows that the adjustment afforded in the setting ofthe plows 6 enables thewidth ofthepath to be closely determined.

snow by the wing plows 6. The lifting of the snow results from the rolling action which is imparted to; the snow by 'the curvature of both plows 5. and 6:, as shown in Fig. 4, so; that when the plows 6, encounter the show which has been already pushed aside by the plow 5,, the snow will be elevated by engagement with theinclined surfaces of the plows ,6. This action isindicated .in curved lines in Fig 3, from which it will be apparent th-atthe plows Gina-y beutilized to; effectively plowa roadway which has already been'plowed, and on which are banks of snow extending on either side of the front plow;

WVhen such banks of snow are already 1 present along the sides of a road, it is obgreater density than the fresh snow. VJ hen the vehicle is provided with Wingplows 6,

disposed at anangle to the surface of the.

roadway, it is obvious that the fresh snow which is pushed aside by the front plow 5 will be elevated by the wing plows 6 as the vehicle progresses, thus lifting the freshly plowed snow clear of the snow banks which extend on either side of the road. \Vhen the freshly plowed snow is lifted clear of the side banks, resistance to movement of the vehicle is materially reduced, and in fact will not be very much greater than the resistance encountered in plowing freshly laid snow for the first time.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by our invention we have pnovided an improved arrangement of snow plows for use in connection with motor vehicles of the heavy duty type, our arrangement of plows mak ing it possible to plow a pathway of almost any desired width and depth, and as many times as may be desired during the course of a winter. While we have shown our plows in connection with a vehicle of a particular type, it is obvious that it is not so limited, but may as well be employed in connection with other types of vehicles without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention.

Ne claim,

1. In apparatus for removing snow, a rehicle, a wing plow pivotally attached at its front end to said vehicle for movement about a vertical axis, the full weight of said front end of said plow being carried by said ve hicle, said plow being further pivotally mounted at substantially the same place for movement about a horizontal axis, said plow being held rigidly about its own longest dimension as an axis, and adjustable means at substantially the rear end of said plow holding it outwardly from said vehicle.

2. In apparatus for removing snow, a vehicle, a wing plow pivotally attached at its front end to said vehicle, for movement about a vertical axis, the full weight of said front end of said plow being carried by said vehicle, said plow being further pivotally mounted at substantially'the same place for movement about a horizontal axis, said plow being held rigidly about its own longest dimension as an axis, adjustable means at substantially the rear end of said plow holding it outwardly from said vehicle, and further adjustable means supporting the weight of the rear end of said plow from said vehicle, allowing said plow to normally rest by its own weight at a predetermined angle to the horizontal surface of the ground.

3. In apparatus for removing snow, a vehicle, a substantially vertical shaft can ried by said vehicle, a wing plow, a pivotal connection between the front end of said plow and said shaft, said connection allowing swinging movement of said plow about a vertical axis and allowing pivotal movement of said plow about a horizontal axis substantially perpendicular to its longest dimension, and holding said plow rigid about its longest dimension as an axis, means including said shaft and a flexible connection adjacent the rear end of said plow holding said plow suspended from said vehicle at any desired angle and height, said means allowing either or both ends of said plow to raise upon the encountering of an unplowable obstruction, and adjustable means holding the rear end of said plow spaced from the rear of said vehicle.

I. In apparatus for removing snow, a vehicle, a substantially vertical shaft carried by said vehicle, a wing plow, a pivotal connection between the front end of said plow and said shaft, said connection allowing swinging movement of said plow about a vertical axis and allowing pivotal movement of said plow about a horizontal axis substantially perpendicular to its longest di mension, and holding said plow rigid about its longest dimension as an axis, means including said shaft and a flexible connection adjacent the rear end of said plowholding said plow suspended from said vehicle at any desired angle and height, said means allowing either or both ends of said plow to raise upon the encountering of an unplowable obstruction, adjustable means holding the rear end of said plow spaced from the rear of said vehicle and lever means to quickly raise the front end of said plow.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle frame, a shaft vertically mounted for sliding movement on said frame, a plow, means attaching said plow to said shaft, allowing said plow to swing about the axis of said shaft, and screw mechanismffor raising and lowering said shaft.

6. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle frame, a shaft vertically mounted for sliding movement on said frame, a plow, means attaching said plow to said shaft, allowing said plow to swing about the axis of said shaft, a hand Wheel and screw niechanism operated thereby for raising and lowering said shaft.

7. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle frame, a bracket attached to said frame, a vertical shaft passing through said bracket, a plow mounted to swing about the axis of said shaft as a pivot, screw threads 011 said shaft, and means including a hand wheel adapted to cooperate with said threads to raise said plow.

8. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle frame, a vertical shaft slidably car ried by said frame, a plow carried by said shaft adapted for swinging about said shaft as an axis, and lever mechanism to raise said shaft.

9. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle frame, a vertical shaft slidably carried by said frame, a plow carried by said shaft adapted for swinging about said shaft as an aXis,a collar on said shaft, a lever operatively engagingsaid collar and pivot ally carried by said frame, thereby when actuated to raise said shaft.

10. In apparatus of the class described, a vehicle frame, a vertical shaft sliclably carried by said frame, a plow carried by said'shaft adapted to swing about said shaft as an axis, screw threads on said shaft, means including a hand wheel adapted to cooperate with said threads to raise said plow, and'further lever means adapted when actuated to raise said plow more quickly.

Dated this tenth day of June, 1924.

CHARLES S. ROBBINS. EDWARD B.COBURN. 

